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Conference Announcement "Making Sense of Borders: Identity, Citizenship and Power in Comparative Perspective" XV SASA Congress South African Sociological Association (SASA) University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg (South Africa) 28 June - 2 July 2009 __________________________________________________ Recent acts of xenophobic violence in South Africa have highlighted the question of borders borders between nation-states, borders between migrants and South Africans, borders between those identified as foreign and those accepted as South African, borders between those with jobs and those without, borders between those with access to basic services and those without, and borders between men and women. While economic globalisation has ensured the smooth traversal of borders in the flows of raw materials, goods, services, money, and, increasingly, people (providing cheap labour) necessary for the continued productive capacity of the economy, it has also resulted in calls for the strengthening of national borders, and for increased policing of people crossing borders. The borders which lock wealth in at the level of the nation-state, are replicated within countries often deepening the borders between the few who have access to wealth and powers, and the majority who do not. These often deepen already inscribed borders defined along a range of identities, most particularly those of race, gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation. This conference seeks to pose fundamental questions about Citizenship, Power and Identity in South Africa, and how they are related to societal cohesion and conflict, and to place them against both the history of the country and the Southern African region, and its trajectory since the end of apartheid. It will also encourage the comparison of the South African developments with experiences in Africa and internationally. The 2009 Congress of the South African Sociological Association (SASA) provides a platform for debate around these and related questions. The theme of the Congress is "Making Sense of Borders: Identity, Citizenship and Power in South Africa." Further to and complementing the main theme, are the following sub-themes for plenaries: - Continental Crossings: The Political Lives of 'the Nation' - Borderlands: Race, Gender, and the Politics of Difference - Global Capitalism and the politics and Practice of Citizenship - Politics of the Border Deadlines: Abstracts should be submitted online, not later than 31 March 2009, at: http://www.sasaonline.org.za Full papers from authors of selected abstracts must be received by Friday 30 May 2009. Contact: Dr Monty Roodt Department of Sociology Rhodes University P.O. Box 94 Grahamstown 6140 South Africa Tel: +27 (0)46 6038361 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.sasaonline.org.za __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org
